Boys soccer: Harbor reclaims Bell

Steve Virgen

NEWPORT BEACH - With a strong surge of momentum and sure-fire

confidence, the Newport Harbor High boys soccer team won back the

perpetual Bell trophy with a 4-0 nonleague victory over Back Bay rival

Corona del Mar.

The Sailors hoisted the trophy -- which goes to the winner of the

annual matchup -- away from the Sea Kings, who had possession for the

past year.

The Tars (2-3-3) built a 3-0 lead before halftime and goalie Duke

Burchell put on the finishing touch two minutes into the second half when

he scored on a penalty kick.

“This is revenge,” Burchell said. “My senior year, going out with the

Bell, I really like that.”

Burchell quickly rebounded after tweaking his left ankle in the first

half. He sat out for less than four minutes. He finished with five saves.

And, in relief, Jesse Forsythe turned back three shots.

CdM (2-5) could not find any rhythm and Harbor took advantage. In the

13th minute, Trey Meek put just enough on a shot to get it past the CdM

goalie.

The score seemed to give the Tars life. They played with more passion

and continued to thrive on their advantage.

“We’re a hungry team right now,” Harbor Coach Matt West said. “We have

high expectations for this year. We really wanted to see that we could

get some results.”

More results came for the Tars in the 22nd minute, when Mitch Gray

delivered a near-perfect pass to Adam Kerns, who finished for the goal

and a 2-0 lead.

Then, with four minutes remaining in the first half, Harbor’s Kevin

Campos kicked in another goal.

CdM combated Harbor’s play with a relentless effort. CdM goalie

Geoffrey Collier finished with six saves, including an outstanding play

in the 48th minute. He was one-on-one with Meek, but Collier ended that

scoring chance with a dive and stretch to turn back the shot.

Also Andy Almquist nearly scored, but his free kick sailed wide right

in the second half. CdM’s Brandon Fenno almost kicked in a goal, as well.

Minutes after Harbor’s first goal, Burchell had to dive to stop Fenno’s

shot.

The Sea Kings failed to get on the scoreboard, but Coach Pat Callaghan

thought they improved.

“We’re struggling,” Callaghan said. “We’re a young team. And, we have

developed slowly. But I’m looking forward to the league season. I think

we’ll be competitive in league.”

Harbor will open Sea View League play Wednesday at Irvine, the

defending league champion. Meanwhile, CdM will take on Laguna Beach to

open Pacific Coast League action Wednesday.

“We’re trying to build some momentum here,” West said. “We believe in

each other. We just want to keep working and we feel like our

opportunities will be there and they were tonight.”